Collie says he “always knew” he was going to come back

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on May 29, 2011, 6:42 PM EDT

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Colts receiver Austin Collie says he never considered walking away from football after his multiple scary concussion scares last year.

“I don’t think for me there really was a decision,” Collie told Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star. “I didn’t even entertain the thought of not coming back. I think the media made their own stories as far as what I was going to do.”

We’re honestly not sure what media reported Collie was considering retirement. Everything we’ve read this offseason about Collie and his future has been positive. Collie says he’s experienced no post-concussion symptoms.

As Colts vice chairman Bill Polian pointed out in February, though, this isn’t like returning from a normal injury.

“I don’t know if you can say that [Collie is back] until he gets on the field and actually plays,” Polian said. “Thus far, all the signs are positive.”

Collie is one of two big medical question marks at wide receiver with the Colts, with Anthony Gonzalez seemingly far less trustworthy at this point to stay healthy.

Take it from someone who is unbiased and lives in Indianapolis. This guy is the most overrated player in the NFL. Peyton Manning makes every receiver on the Colts into an all-star. Look at Blair White and Jacob Tamme. I hope he comes back healthy, but if he doesn’t, he has tons of guys that could easily replace him. If you can catch a football and run a sub 5 second forty time, you can play receiver for the Colts.

It’s not about “hanging passes” from Manning… If you were at the Jag’s game, which I was, the pass that Collie concussed on was absolutely perfect. As was the pass during the Eagle’s game. He’s a slot receiver and hits the middle HARD. Manning simply puts the ball where he has to and Collie gets it. The guy is the best slot receiver in the NFL, as far as I’m concerned.

“According to PFF’s ranking system (which is not perfect or objective, but a system worth discussing), Collie ranks 14th in the entire NFL drops percentage. 64 ‘catchable’ balls were thrown to Collie, and he only dropped 4 of them for a 6.45% drop percentage. If you look at Collie catch percentage in 2010, it was INSANE! He caught 82% of the balls thrown at him.”

He’s a vital piece to our offense. I’m glad he has this mentality and to put it simply, hopefully his brain is healthy. The guy has all the heart in the world and some amazing talent.

Whew. Okay. Find me three even in the same class as Collie as far as production there. The best of the bunch is Jordan Shipley (all potential), James Jones (has the dropsies), Jacoby Ford (an undervalued but still young speedster), Mario Manningham (seemed to regress last year), and Robert Meachem (inconsistent). So, yes. Austin Collie when healthy (admittedly a question) is the best slot receiver in the league, pretty much hands down. I won’t bore you with the stats, you can check them on your own, but his catch rate, yards after catch, receptions, and almost everything else is terrific.

I don’t know how guys like Collie don’t look at former Eagles/Pats RB Kevin Turner and think long and hard. I certainly can’t fault someone for craving the money, fame and accomplishment that come with playing in the NFL, but at what price? If I knew my body would start to fall apart and I’d get dementia in my early 40’s I don’t know if any amount of money would be worth it.

I found the Collie concussion hits after reading the article and totally understand why people were speculating his situation should warrant retirement consideration. Those two massive head collisions occurred within 2 months of one another. I don’t care how positive his agent, his manager and his PR staff is– he needs to be damn careful. I know this is is livelihood, but his life is more valuable.

I wish they were more like you people, in the “real business world” crying like children because you can’t get out at noon on Good Friday and wasting time posting on this site when you should be working…like the ‘good company people’ you demand the players be!

There’s no way I can call Welker the slot receiver anymore. Maybe its my old fashioned definitions, but the slot receiver is out there only when there are 2 other receivers. He is the 3rd receiver, which doesn’t always mean he is the 3rd in the depth chart, but Welker is the #1 target for Brady now. Julian Edelman is, and really has been, the slot guy.

Although its pretty ironic to me, because Welker and Collie are strikingly similar stylistically eh? The Colts just have Wayne and Garcon to line up outside.

You mentioned Greg Camarillo as the Vikes slot. Its actually Percy Harvin ( moved out of slot due to the Sidney Rice injury for a bit last yr). Slot is Percy ‘s natural position and I’m positive lots of people would take him over Collie hands down.

Well, Sidney Rice is unlikely to return to the team, which pretty much makes Harvin the #1 receiver on the team. Again, your definition of a slot receiver and mine might differ, but you can’t be the teams first option and be a slot guy to me. Having said that, Harvin’s migraine issues have caused him to miss time too, so it is an interesting comparison there.

Assuming Sidney Rice leaves, which seems moot to me, Harvin won’t be a slot guy which is why I listed Camarillo in there. Natural position aside, the #1 target is not what this conversation is targeting.